12 Activities and Games for Long Distance Relationships

Being in a long distance relationship is tough. Not only do you lack the joy of just having your significant other with you, but you have to compensate and find other ways of communication and entertainment that you can’t do in person. You can’t just go to the movies or sit on the couch with each other watching TV. You can’t go on cute dates or go exploring together. You can’t stay at home and cook together. At least not while you two are apart. Long distance relationships are hard to keep up and I find that that take a lot more effort than local relationships.

I’ve been in a long distance relationship for years now, so here’s my advice and ideas on keeping busy with activities and games from afar.

1. Rabb.It

If you can’t sit together and watch a movie together, at least you can watch stuff in synch with Rabb.It! We used this to watch things on Netflix and Youtube without having to do a count down and triple check to see if we were on the same spot. For long distance relationships, this is almost like being next to each other if you’re on Skype watching together. The one thing that I do really like about this is that if you’re both from different countries and have a different Netflix selection based on your location, it cancels out the issue where one person would have a movie or series in their selection, but the other does not.

2. Pictionary

If you’ve ever played iSketch or Draw Something, this is the equivalent that still runs because unfortunately, our childhood favourites no longer work. The closest thing I’ve sound is Pinturillo 2 that offers english options, but if anyone else knows of a dupe, let me know! This is great for long distance relationships if you have friends online who you can play with as well. It’s a classic and not hard to convince others to play as well since it doesn’t require any downloads. It’d be great for if you’re trying to ‘spend time’ with friends or family.

3. Don’t Starve Together

If you’re looking for a challenging co-op game, I would really recommend Don’t Starve Together. This is definitely one of my favourite games. It does cost a bit of money at $14, but it does go on sale often and only one of you need to purchase it because one purchase gets you and extra access key. I purchased the game to try it out and gave my free key to Daniel. This game can be very frustrating at first because if you’re new to everything, it is possible to die a lot if you don’t know about the dangers (I didn’t know the dark was dangerous or burning a bee hive doesn’t kill the bees). However, once you get the hang of it, it really helps build team work and a sense of accomplishment when you start adding more and more to your base. It’s also a game where it’s really easy to lose track of time. I would highly recommend this game to anyone in long distance relationships!

4. MMORPGS

I know Don’t Starve Together is technically classified as an MMORPG, but I made this separate section for the obvious mainstream multiplayer games online like League of Legends, Vindictus, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Kritika, etc. There are many different kinds on the Internet from popular to small-community built ones. If the popular ones like WoW or LoL or CoD don’t interest you like they don’t to me, try Vindictus or Kritika. If you’re looking for cuter ones, there are plenty. With some searching, you’ll find the perfect MMORPG to play with your significant other.

5. Skype Sharescreens

I feel like a lot of people in long distance relationships forget about this function on Skype. This opens so many doors to activities that you could do together. It also adds another sense of connection as if your significant other was there with you. You can scroll through feeds together, browse the net, look up stuff, read books, learn together, everything! The only downside is that there is no sound, but that’s what Rabb.it is for!

6. Buzzfeed Quizzes

Like I said, using Skype share screen allows you to take part in many more activities in your long distance relationships. I know Buzzfeed quizzes sounds really cheesy, but it’s because they’re so cheesy and outrageous that makes it funny! Have a laugh at the totally accurate or inaccurate your results are or be shocked at the weird facts you learn about popular choices or random topics. It’s also great because Buzzfeed updates so often, that you can always check back for more.

7. Higher or Lower

This is another simple game you can play with Skype share screen. Higher or Lower is a game where you get two choices and have to choose which was searched up more within a certain time frame. Some choices are really obvious and easy, but some get really tricky, especially when you get to the later levels. The options are also always randomly generated, so if you do lose at a high level, don’t worry, there is a lot of replay value because you don’t have to start slow like normal games.

8. Geo Guesser

There are many different kinds of these games online. The ones I know of are GeoGuessr and Earth Picker. This is another game for long distance relationships where you can use Skype to share screen and collaboratively determine where in the world or certain parameter the photo was taken. At one point everything can look the same, but then it’s just fun to take wild guesses to see how off you are.

9. Trine

If you’re into multiplayer platformer games, Trine might be for you! I’ve personally only tried Trine 2 because it was on sale, but I do love it even though I’m terrible at platformers. You can team up with friends and take on specific characters with specific abilities and change characters with each other until you reach the end of the map. Each character has a totally different ability and it is necessary to use each ability to complete the game. This game is great for those in long distance relationships that want to challenge themselves.

10. Facebook Games

Now, don’t turn a blind eye to this. I know what you’re thinking. No, I don’t mean the games that flood you with spam from other friends asking for coins. I’m talking about the mini games in Facebook Messenger. Between the add files and camera button at the bottom, you will find a games button where you can scroll through a number of games. It’s fun to see who can achieve the highest score in many of the silly, slightly frustrating, but fun games.

11. Cards Against Humanity Online

I bet you didn’t know this was available online. Although not made by the official creators, there are simulators online that you can play with your significant other and friends. Some I found are Xyzzy, Cards for Humanity, and Azala. I don’t think anyone can ever get sick of Cards Against Humanity!

12. JackBox

This is a game that will require a Skype Sharescreen or broadcast on Twitch. This game- or should I say these games have a high replay value. Daniel and I have played games like Fibbage and Murder mystery so much and we still haven’t run into any repeat questions. The games also change based off how many participants there are, so it’ll always be different! Anyone in long distance relationships that doesn’t mind spending a bit more money on a game should definitely get this. It is a pack of multiple games where you join in on a device or smart phone through a website and play from the device. I did try free and unofficial versions online, but compared to the real deal, they were pretty bad. So if you don’t mind spending a bit of money, get Jackbox!